Weather Forecast

swcnews

Contact Email

History

Author Content

A poll shows public support for Minnesota's governor and junior U.S. senator remains high. A Minnesota Public Radio-Humphrey Institute poll found 61 percent of respondents approve of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which MPR reports is up 6 points from a similar poll in August, when the governor was being considered for the vice presidential slot. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat wrapping up her second year in the Senate, had even higher marks. The poll showed her public approval at 67 percent. Neither Pawlenty nor Klobuchar is on the ballot next month.

ST. PAUL -- The state is sitting on nearly $500 million in unexpected tax revenue, but will have to use that to offset a weakening economy and to soften a looming budget deficit that likely will top $1 billion. The state's existing $34 billion budget is sound, with enough cash on hand to pay for programs and $449 million more in tax receipts collected than was predicted for the current budget cycle, Minnesota finance officials said Friday. But the outlook is dimming, state Economist Tom Stinson said.

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - Sen. Norm Coleman said he has demonstrated the courage to make difficult decisions while building a record of bipartisan accomplishment. "Measure folks by the results," he said. Democrat Al Franken said Coleman's results have not benefitted most in his home state and that he is ready to take Coleman's place and actually fight for Minnesotans. "I want to act, that's why I'm running for Senate," Franken said. "But it's about who you're acting on behalf of." And the third candidate, Independence Party's Dean Barkley, used the second debate in Minnesota's U.S.

Even as they trudged through thick forests; even as they portioned out single chocolate chips and spoonfuls of cold mashed potatoes for breakfast; and even as they worried about getting word to their family and friends, Duluth hikers Maria Jacenko and Grace Knezevich never lost faith that they could find their way out of the wilderness. The two women started out at the head of the Kekekabic Trail in Ely on Oct. 3; they expected to emerge, more than 40 miles and four days later, on the Gunflint Trail.

And then there were four. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has settled on four options for the replacement of the Hastings bridge, and the public will have the chance later this month to see the designs being considered and comment on them. MnDOT will hold an open house at Hastings City Hall from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21. There will be presentations at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The following is a breakdown of the four bridge types being considered and the pros and cons that come with each.

Enbridge Energy committed eight probable violations and could pay up to $2.4 million in fines for the November 2007 fire that killed two Superior-based workers, according to an investigation filed Wednesday by the Pipeline and Hazardous Mate-rial Safety Administration. Wednesday's ruling from the U.S. Department of Transportation is compatible with Enbridge's internal study in May, said company spokesperson Denise Hamsher. The accident on Nov. 28 killed Steve Arnovich, 35, and David Mussatti Jr., 27, at a pipeline repair site near Clearbrook, Minn., about 25 miles northwest of Bemidji.

ST. PAUL - The books are dog-eared, marked up and full of paper tabs holding certain pages. The Al Franken best-sellers sitting on a shelf in a Minnesota Republican Party office were key materials GOP staffers turned to as they started compiling information about the comedian-turned-Senate-candidate. While opposition research - and the long-forgotten facts, statements, and video clips it can yield - certainly is nothing new in political campaigns, it is a major factor in the contest so far between Franken and Republican Sen.

ST. PAUL - Candidates in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race will debate five times before the Nov. 4 election. Democrat Al Franken, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley agreed Friday to two debates in Greater Minnesota - in Duluth and Rochester - and three in the Twin Cities area. Indicating the fragility of the agreement, the campaigns issued the same short statement in announcing the debates. Their deal stipulates that no other debate invitations will be granted.

WILLMAR -- Matt Holland, senior field coordinator with Pheasants Forever, will be voting "yes" for the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment this November. But don't think this is about pheasant hunting for Holland. It's all about his two young children and other young people in the state, he says.